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This blog is a collection of stories on the ordinary days of today and a documentary of the days of the past. Thank-you for reading and allowing me to share. Enjoy your ordinary days and hopefully the bits and pieces of mine will resonate with the moments in your lives that bring you happiness.

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August 19, 2013: Invasion of the Bachelor Pad

Did I mention that Garrett is temporarily living in a apartment? I call it his bachelor pad. And I LOVE it! I have spent this awesome Monday working out of the pad. Not a care in the world for this girl. The life of simplicity rules.

Garrett sold his house a couple of months ago. He knows where he wants to move, but is waiting for his desired neighborhood to produce a house. So, for now, he and his crew are apartment dwellers. I am the occasional guest.

As I type this, I am sitting in a very bachelor-looking over-sized recliner with a tie blanket resting between me and my computer (I adjusted the temp after Garrett left...oops). My step-dog, Cookie, is snoring at my feet; taking in the warmth of the sun through the window. Pandora is blaring from my I-Pad mini. Channel choice: Third Eye Blind. Perfect.

I slept in past my usual this morning as Garrett dealt with the bustle of getting his kiddos to school. A dream boyfriend, he made me a pot of coffee. The aroma of this guilty pleasure pulled me out of bed. Off to the office for Garrett. Cookie and I choose to work from the bachelor pad.

A run following the Platte River with a view to the beauty of the Rocky Mountains was a perfect way to start the day. Then back to the pad. Cookie was waiting for me.

A sight I saw while running motivated me to have a little fun this afternoon in between work, e-mails, calls, and hanging with my dog pal. As I rounded mile four of my run on a remote road, a woman on skates met me. As she approached I first noticed a big smile on her face and a bit of rhythm in her skating.

She was clearly busting a move listening to her tunes through her ear buds. Her skates weren't the in-line model. The were the same white ones I rented when I skated in the 70's. Her age...probably 70. She was having a ball; not to mention rocking it in her spandex shorts and tank top.

My chance encounter with this happy skater caused me to both smile and think a bit. I want to be like her as I age; embracing life and having fun. She was enjoying the same peaceful river and mountain views as the rest of us. But I am guessing that no world problems or daily deadlines were weighing on her.

As I got back to join Cookie in our comfy digs, I decided to have some fun. Just like the carefree skater. So we had some fun with Garrett.

Cookie and I decided to break Garrett's house rules and send random pictures throughout the day. From wearing shoes in the house to messing up his perfect sock drawer, we cracked ourselves up. And then we sent Garrett a picture of each of our shenanigans.

After about the fifth picture, I received a response in all caps "YOU HAVE NOW CROSSED THE LINE". I didn't know a tidy sock drawer was such a big deal. I thought I would have gotten him with a toilet seat left up and kitchen flowers moved to the bathroom.

Anyway...that was fun. Cookie is done though. She's taking a nap. I think I'm going to relax and catch up on some reading. It's been a long day.

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Sorry about the cover picture. It's the best I had from our Top 10 day in Flagstaff. And in all honesty, I had to Google "Snapchat Filters" to figure out how to create this picture. Then...wahlah... I am a deer or a dog??

Garrett and I are in Flagstaff, checking it out. I am feeling like a senior in high school, touring schools and narrowing down final decisions. We are going through the same decision process. Kind of. No school, though. Basically trying to figure out commonality in where to live post-kids.

What we have found is this is an easier decision for Garrett. He has a master spreadsheet that lists comparison of cities in the US listed by major categories of importance to us...days of sunshine, inches of snow, recreation, cost of living, median home cost, etc...

Easy, peasy for Garrett. We can narrow down by a spreadsheet.

Sandy...not so much.

Our breakfast conversation was a nice point of clarity as we visited our city #2, Flagstaff, on the spreadsheet.

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